USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Harrison > Centennial history of Harrison, Maine > Part 11
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The religious societies whose histories are sketched above are all of the organizations that have ever become per- manent in Harrison, or that have attained sufficient per- manence to be able to maintain religious services for a series of years; but there has been much preaching from other denominations, and at times there has been quite an interest in some of them. At one time there was a regular Universalist organization at Bolster's Mills, with Rev. John Dore as a settled pastor, and regular services were held for some time at that place, and Mr. Dore also preached many times in different parts of the town. A leader in the Bolster's Mills society was James M. Edwards, who was a prominent citizen of the place at the time. Later in life he became a zealous Spiritualist. A lady preacher of this denomination held occasional services at Bolster's Mills, and attracted considerable attention.
Second Adventists have preached in all parts of Har- rison at various times in its history, and there have been many firm believers in the doctrines of this denomination, including some who were formerly members of other churches, but they never became numerous enough to at- tempt to form a church. The popularity of preaching
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different from that of the old time preachers came as a protest against the doctrines that they preached, and here, as elsewhere, it has been effective in modifying the pulpit utterances. The more liberal doctrines of the present day have largely done away with the preachers of other than those of the regular denominations, and at present there is preaching by the pastors of the Congregational, Baptist, and Methodist Churches, and very seldom by any one else. It can hardly be said with truthfulness that a majority of our people are church-goers, but all that do attend do so at one of the three churches named above, and this is be- cause it is generally believed that our preachers are en- deavoring to make men better, and are not devoting their entire energies to the building up of some special doctrine, and the tearing down of rival churches.
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CHAPTER V.
EDUCATIONAL MATTERS.
T HE early settlers of this country seemed to have con- stantly in mind the fact that the cause of education and religion should be in some way provided for. Some of the ways in which this was done may seem strange to us, and the sums that were available for the support of the common schools may appear entirely insufficient for the maintenance of even one school, but we should remember that our forefathers had but very little which they could give, and that the best education of those early days was very primitive when compared with that which every in- telligent child is obliged to acquire at the present time. Considering the situation and the means at their command, perhaps we should wonder that so much was done as is shown by all reliable histories.
We are informed that; "In granting townships for settle- ment, either as bounty lands to soldiers, or otherwise, in early times, the General Court of Massachusetts held the grantors to conform in all things to the laws relating to education and schools." These were the first things for consideration when a new settlement was to be made, and all grants were made with the express condition that one share of the township so granted should be set off for schools. In the year 1700, the General Court of Massa- chusetts passed an "Act Respecting Schools," and Section I of that Act is as follows: "It being one chief project of Satan to keep man from the knowledge of the Scriptures,
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as in former times keeping them in unknown tongues, * to the end that learning may not be buried in the graves of our forefathers, in the church and common- wealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors; It is therefore ordered by this Court and authority thereof that every township within this jurisdiction, after the Lord has in- creased them to the number of fifty householders, shall then forthwith appoint one within their town to teach all such children as shall resort to him, to write and read; the instruction to be paid for by the parents, or by the in- habitants in general, as a major part of those who order the prudential concerns of the town shall appoint. The teacher shall be Orthodox, and no minister of any town shall be deemed, or held, to be accepted as Schoolmaster of that town. No person shall presume to set up, or keep, a school for teaching children in reading, writing, or other sciences, but such as are of sober and good conversation, and have the allowance of the Selectmen. When the town has one hundred householders, or more, there shall be kept a grammar school, whose teacher shall have the approbation of the Minister of the town."
As we are informed that this law, without material al- teration, was in force for a long term of years, it is prob- able that it was on the statute books when the townships of Bridgton and Otisfield (from which Harrison was made up) were first granted to settlers, and that a part of each township was reserved for the use of schools. Our town records show that there was a sum of money due from Bridgton to Harrison for the support of schools after the latter town was incorporated, and that this money was the subject of frequent conferences before a final decision was reached. At the annual meeting in 1808, Nathaniel Burn- ham was chosen as "an agent or trustee for said town, to receive said town's proportion of the principal of school money now at use in Bridgton, and to put said money at use in such manner that the town of Harrison may have the
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income of said money once a year annually." In 1811, Nathaniel Burnham, Samuel Willard, and Samuel Scribner, were chosen as "a Committee to take care of the public money due from Bridgton." Other votes are recorded that probably relate to this matter, but the records fail to show when the business was settled, or how much money was received.
It appears that when Harrison became a separate town no action had been taken in Otisfield in regard to disposing of the land reserved in the original grant for the support of schools, and in 1810, the following petition was sent to the General Court of Massachusetts :
To the Honorable, the Senate and House of Representa- tives in General Court assembled:
The petition of the subscribers, committees chosen by the towns of Otisfield and Harrison respectively, humbly shows that in the original grant of the township of Otis- field, in the County of Cumberland, that there was reserved in said township, three 64th parts to be disposed of as follows, to wit .: one 64th part to be given to the first settled minister in said town of Otisfield, one 64th part to the use of the ministry in the said town of Otisfield, and one 64th part to the use of the schools in the said town; that since the incorporation of the said town of Otisfield, a part thereof has been taken off and incorporated into a separate town by the name of Harrison; that the 64th parts aforesaid granted to the use of the ministry and the schools are now lying within the said towns of Otisfield and Harrison, and so situated as to be of little or no value for the purpose for which they were granted,-
Wherefore your petitioners pray that an act may be passed authorizing said towns to sell and dispose of the lands aforesaid given to the use of the ministry and schools in such manner that a permanent fund may be established for the benefit of said towns from said lands granted for the use of the ministry and the schools aforesaid:
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And that David Ray, Zebulon Knight, Enoch Spurr, Robert Anderson, and Daniel Holden, all of Otisfield; and Naphtali Harmon, Samuel Scribner, Samuel Willard, Benjamin Foster, and Nathaniel Burnham, all of said Harrison, may be constituted trustees to sell said lands, and generally to manage and govern said fund in such manner that the interest arising annually therefrom may be applied to the use of the ministry and the schools in said towns of Otisfield and Harrison.
And as in duty bound will ever pray.
Dated at Otisfield, 22 May, 1810.
NAPHTALI HARMON, SAMUEL WILLARD, NATHANIEL BURNHAM, Committee of Harrison,
THOMAS WESTON, ROBERT ANDERSON, DANIEL HOLDEN,
Committee of Otisfield.
It appears that the General Court took favorable action on this petition, and granted the prayer of the petitioners, although the town records are silent concerning the matter. At a special meeting held on April 3, 1815, it was voted to accept the report of the trustees of the ministerial and school fund, but the report was not spread on the records by the Clerk. In 1817, the town voted "to lay out the money arisen from the school fund for schooling the pres- ent year." The first definite information given by the records in regard to this fund is in the record of the an- nual meeting for 1831, when the trustees of the ministerial and school fund reported in detail a fund of $1,035.44, said fund being in the hands of twelve individuals in sums varying from $18.60 to $203.25, and all secured by good notes. In 1843, appears another report showing the same
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sum at interest, secured by fourteen different notes. Nearly, if not quite, the same amount is now contained in the fund, which is invested in bank stock, and the part which is set aside for the use of the schools yields an annual income of $42. Of course this is a small sum at the present time when compared with the total sum expended for schools, but in the early days it was large enough to be a godsend to the cause of education.
At the first town meeting held in town after incorpo- ration, the Selectmen were chosen as School Committee, and at the special meeting held on September 30, 1805, the sum of $50 was raised for the support of schools. It was voted, "That every school district shall build their own schoolhouse," the school districts alluded to evidently being the ones that existed within the boundaries of the present town before it was set off from Bridgton and Otisfield, as none had been created by vote of the town. On April 7, 1806, the town voted $75 for the support of schools, and to accept the school districts as they were divided by the Selectmen. This division as recorded divided the town into six districts, and no further change was made until 1812, when it was voted, "To set off William Gammon, John Gammon, Levi Gilson and Peter Gilson, from their former school districts into a district by themselves, together with their families and property." In 1814, two new districts were created, one containing "Samuel Willard, Benjamin Chadbourne, Leander Harmon, Ebenezer H. Scribner, Ben- jamin Willard, Joel Simmons, Joshua Howard, Naphtali Harmon, John Woodsum, and Joel Whitmore, with their families and estates," and the other "Wentworth Stuart, John Skillings, Isaac Hall, Allison Libby, Lemuel Fogg, John Fogg, and Richard Fogg, with their families and es- tates." No further change was made until 1818, when Simeon Caswell, Philip Caswell, Benjamin Rich, Daniel Jumper, Edward Lowell, and Josiah Whitney were "set off into a new district." In 1819, another new district was
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created, two were united in one, and several families changed from one district to another, and from that time constant changes in the limits of the school districts were the "order of the day." There were comparatively few annual meetings at which some changes were not made, and it was not unusual for special meetings to be called for this purpose. There was no stability whatever, and the resident of one district today might live in another one tomorrow. Any town meeting, where an article in the warrant would permit, might wipe districts out of existence, create new ones, or change the limits of existing ones in any way that a majority might chance to vote, and the doings of one meeting might be reconsidered and wholly set aside by another one held as soon as legal notice could be given. Among many singular votes in regard to school districts appears this: In 1850, the town was asked to set off certain persons at "Barrow's Mills," into a new district and the following vote is recorded on the matter: "Voted, that the District at Barrow's Mills receive the money in their limits the same as last year, and that William P. Bucknell goes where he has a mind to."
As stated above, it was voted at a special town meeting held during the first year of Harrison's existence as a town, "That every school district shall build their own school- house," and in 18II, a similar vote was passed; and it may be well to say for the benefit of those who are too young to be familiar with ancient laws and customs that each school district was obliged to build its own school- house ever after as long as the "district system" was in existence, receiving no assistance whatever from the town. In 1812, it was voted that, "A part, or all, of the inhabi- tants of the town shall build a chimney in the town house, and improve the same for a schoolhouse," and this vote was substantially repeated at another meeting held in May of the same year. Whether "all, or a part, of the inhab- itants of Harrison" acted in accordance with this vote,
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the records saith not, but it is presumed that they did, as the town voted in 1819, "not to have a school in the town house any more."
The sum of $50 was raised for schools in 1805, and this was increased to $75 in each of the two following years. In 1808, the town seemed to have a spasm of economy and refused to raise anything, but this was partially atoned for on the following year by an appropriation of $100. This was such a generous sum that it proved to be sufficient for two years. After this date the amount was gradually increased until it was $300 in 1820. The total amount raised in the sixteen years ending with 1820, was $1,750, or an average of less than $110 per year. In 1815, it seems that the interest on the school fund was first available, and this probably increased the available amount by the addition of some $40 per year. From 1821 to 1850, the appropriation by the town was gradually increased until it had reached $500, and the average amount for the thirty years was a little over $400.
During the first sixteen years it appears that there were from six to twelve school districts, or an average of nine, and, if the money had been equally divided, each would have had a little over $12 per annum, and a little over $16 after the school fund was available. During the next thirty years there was an average of twelve districts, thus giving to each an average of about $36.50 annually. As the money was not divided equally among the districts, but according to the number of scholars in each, some of them received considerably less than the sums named, while others had a larger sum. It is almost inconceivable that schools could have been maintained for such sums for a length of time sufficient to have been of much benefit, since the schools of the present time cost about $10 per week, not reckoning the cost of books and repairs. But schools were maintained in every district for at least one term per year, and scholars who were bound to learn as much as possible obtained a
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very creditable education, and one which in many cases formed the basis of learning that has enabled them to fill positions of honor and trust in this and other States.
It must be remembered that the schools of those early days were carried on in a much different manner than those of the present, and that the amount that was paid in taxes for the support of schools was only a small part of what our forefathers really contributed to the cause of edu- cation. Each family boarded the teacher free for a por- tion of each term, and the wood was another free offering. The boys had to prepare all of the fuel, and take their turns at building the fires. Nothing was paid for janitors' services in those days, and all of the cleaning that was done was free. The schoolhouses were built by the residents of each district without help from the town, and all repairs were made in the same way. Books, and everything else that was used in the school-room, were furnished by the parents. In addition to all this, it was not an unheard-of thing for the schools to be lengthened by means of money paid by private subscription. While there were many in those days who did not realize the actual value of educa- tion, there were others - and their numbers were not few - who made many sacrifices for the cause, and whose noble efforts, put forth under the most adverse circum- stances, were worthy of sincere praise.
The schools of the past were much different from those of the present, and were very primitive, even within the recollection of middle-aged people. The writer has a most vivid remembrance of some of the schools which he at- tended in his early boyhood, when teachers "boarded round," and wood was furnished free, - or at a ridicu- lously low price, - and was in some cases of such poor quality that the pupils came very near to freezing in the attempt to burn it. He well remembers how sheer neces- sity, in one case, compelled various raids on a certain "stump fence" belonging to the man who furnished the wood, and
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of how the fence was riddled and ruined, but a good fire was the result. The school-room where this occurred would hardly be used for a hog-pen, by a progressive farmer at the present time, and the attempt to warm it in zero weather, even with the best wood furnished by stump fences, was usually very near to a "dismal failure."
Each family was obliged to furnish its scholars with all the books that they had, and all other necessities of the school-room, and the supply was meager indeed in com- parison with that of the present. The "Four R's" was about all that was taught, and that in the most antiquated manner. There was little uniformity of school books, and many a book found its way into the school-rooms that never had the sanction of the School Committee. Most of the scholars plodded along in the same way, getting a smattering of education, just sufficient to enable them to cipher some, read a little, and to have a very indefinite knowledge of the world about them and what had happened therein. But occasionally there would be some who would surmount all obstacles, and make progress that was wonder- ful under the circumstances. Really, the progress made in education in those days was marvelous. It seems almost impossible that schools were maintained to the extent that they were, and that the scholars of those days made the advancement that they did.
As far as the records show, the Selectmen had charge of the schools until 1822, when the first Superintending School Committee was elected, consisting of Grinfill Blake, Charles Walker, and Joel Whitmore. In the same year, school agents were first chosen, the following persons hav- ing the honor to be the first ones to serve in that capacity : Thomas Cummings, Cushing Dawes, Samuel Scribner, Robert Lamb, Seth Carsley, Jr., Benjamin Foster, Naphtali Harmon, Moses Allen, Benjamin Carsley.
The town continued to elect the agents at the annual meetings until 1850, after which date they were chosen
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by the school districts in "district meetings." Each dis- trict was to a certain extent a small republic, and the meet- ings, which were held annually, were town meetings on a small scale. These meetings were called by posted war- rants, specifying the business to be transacted, the articles being usually something after this form:
Ist. - To choose a Moderator to preside over said meet- ing
2nd - To choose a Clerk for the ensuing year.
3rd - To choose an Agent for the ensuing year.
4th - To determine when the School shall begin.
5th - To determine whether the School shall be taught by a Master or a Mistress.
6th - To determine the manner in which the Teacher shall be boarded.
7th - To determine the manner in which the wood shall be furnished.
8th - To transact any other business which may legally come before the said meeting.
The Agent was the most important officer, and was em- powered to transact all of the business of the district, in- cluding the hiring of the teachers, and arranging for the schools, excepting that it was the duty of the School Com- mittee to examine and certificate the teachers, and have a general oversight of the schools. No teacher was allowed to take charge of a school who was not duly certificated, and the Committee could dismiss teachers for incompetency, or expel scholars who were unruly. Some one of the members was supposed to visit each school twice in each term, the same as the Superintendent does now, but the reports show that they failed to do so in very many cases.
Wood was usually furnished by the lowest bidder, and in the early days it was delivered in sled lengths, and the boys had to work it up, unless the citizens were patriotic
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enough to furnish it "free gratis." Later, cordwood lengths was the accepted form, and still later it was prepared for the stove and put under cover, as at present.
The boarding of the teacher was one of the curious features of the old times, the board being set up at auction, and "knocked down" to the lowest bidder. The moderator was the auctioneer, and no one was prohibited from bidding on account of "race, color, or previous condition of ser- vitude," nor did it make any difference whether the bidder resided in palace or hovel. The teacher had no choice usually but to board with the family who put in the lowest bid, and the results in some cases can be "better imagined than described." This was the first advance from the system of "boarding round," already spoken of. Board by the lowest bidder was the prevailing system for many years, but at last the people began to regard it as a "relic of barbarism," and it was gradually abandoned, the agents arranging for board in good places, or the teacher allowed to procure a boarding place wherever she saw fit.
Some, in particular, of the old time schools would seem very strange in these modern times. The physical strength of the teacher was a qualification that was fully as im- portant in many cases as the literary qualifications. Many of the schools in winter were composed to quite an extent of lusty boys in their teens, many being "man-grown," and it was deemed very important that the master should be able to handle them in good shape.
One of the old time teachers was our late respected towns- man, Joshua Howard, and he was a very successful one, too. His method of punishment in a school taught by him at Harrison Village well illustrates the manner of govern- ment in schools in those days. The seats and desks in the old schoolhouse were made of substantial planks, and were of the form almost invariably used in those times, the front ones being quite low. Early in the school, one of the largest boys transgressed to such an extent that he
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was promptly called into the floor by Mr. Howard, who had in his hand a good, heavy ruler, or "ferule," such as scholars in those days were quite familiar with. The boy obeyed the call, expecting to be punished in the usual way of blows on the hand, and perhaps thinking that he should resist if it hurt him too bad. What was his surprise to be told that he might get down on the floor and crawl under the front seat. He proceeded to do so, probably thinking that it was rather a funny performance, and he was of the opinion that it was a little too funny when Mr. Howard proceeded to apply the big oak ruler to the part of his person that was the most prominent when he started on his way under the seat. The ruler was applied in dead earnest, the teacher being a big, strong man. The pupil hustled with all of his might, but he was so low down, and was held so securely in place by the low plank seat, that he could not make a very speedy passage, and when he got through he doubtless found himself in a condition so that he seated himself very carefully. Many of the large boys found it necessary to make the passage under that seat during the winter, and it is very safe to say that they did not often linger on the way.
The District System was probably the best that could be devised in those early days, and had many good features, chief among which seemed to be the fact that it was thor- oughly democratic, and got as close to the people as pos- sible. To very many it seemed to the very last to be ex- actly the right thing for the people to hold their little school meetings at which the officers of the district were chosen, and arrangements made for the schools which were to be for the sole benefit of the community that was doing the business. Each district seemed to be a small republic, and the principle exemplified seemed to be the one upon which our system of government was constructed. But the system was found to have its faults also, and these appeared to be worse and worse as the people became more
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